Boiler



Nov. 13, 1951 c. T. DENKER ET AL 2,574,913

BOILER Filed March 27-, 1947 v 2 SHEETS--SHEET 1 1?? 1/21? for;

C'zar/e s YTDenker and db /7r? E Moore v 1951 c. T. DENKER ETAL BOILER 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Filed March 27, 1947 Inventor;

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Patentecl Nov. 13, 1951 UNITED STATES FATENTOFF'ICE Charles T. D enker and John R. Moore, Chicago,

'Ill., assignors to The Calefactor Corporation,

Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois mammalian 27, 1947, Serial No. 737,650

2Claims. (01. 122-348) This invention relates to boilers and moresl eciflcally to boilers of the water tube-fire tube type.

It is a primary object of our invention to afford an efficient and novel boiler wherein the combustion products and the water flowing therethrough are brought into intimate heat'exchange relationship with each other.

Another object of our invention is to afford a novel fire tube wateritube' boiler wherein the hot combustion gases pass successively over the outside of the water tubes and through the water tubes.

Another object of our invention isto construct a water tube-firetub boiler in such a manner that the hot combustion gases, in flowing to the fire tubes from the combustion chamber in which they are formed during operation of our boiler, flow both transversely to", and counter to, the direction of flow of the water in the water tubes in good heat exchange relationship therewith;

A further object" of our invention is to afford a water tube-fire tube boiler wherein the water flows both longitudinally and transversely thereof.

Yet another object of our invention is to afford a water tube-fire tube boiler wherein the water tubes are arranged in rows in spaced apart relation to each other with the water tubes the outer rows spaced closer together than the tubes in the inner rows so that the water tubes'i n the rows adjacent to the side walls thereof form water walls for the boiler.

Another object of our invention is toassociate the heat-exchange elements thereof with each other in a novel and expeditious manner where-.- by the fire-tubes may be of relatively smalldiam eter.

A further object of our invention is to con: struct a novel water tube-fire tube boiler wherein the air used to support combustion of the "fuel therein is pre-heated by passing downwardly through passageways formed in the walls of the boiler.

Other and further objects of. the present invention will be apparent from the following description and claims and are illustratedin the accompanying drawingsfiwhich, by Way of illustration, show a preferred. embodiment of the present invention and the principles thereof and what we now considerto be the best mode in which we have contemplated applying these principles. Other embodiments of the invention embodying the same or equivalent principlesmay be used and structural changes may be made as de- .walls 21 and 28 and the bottom wall 3|.

2 sired by those skilled in the art without depart ing from the present invention and the purview of the appended claims.

In the drawings: Fig; 1 is an end elevational view, partly in section, of a boiler embodying the principles of our invention; 2

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 2-2 in Fig. 1; 3

Fig. 3 is a detail sectionalview taken substantially along the line 3 -3 in Fig. l;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 44 in Fig. l; and i Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail sectional view of part of the structure shown in Fig. 1.

The boiler shown'in Figs. 1 to dot the accompanying drawings comprises a housing'20 mounted on a supporting table 22. The housing 20 comprises two'side walls 24 and 25, two end walls 21 and 28, a top wall'30 and a bottom wall 3|. Eachof the side walls 24 and 25, the end walls 21 and 28, the top wall 30' and the bottom Wall 3| of the housing 2|) comprises an inner panel 33 and an outer panel 34. These panels may be made of any suitable material such as, for example, sheet steel and, as is best seen in Figs. land 4, the center portion of the inner panel 33 of the bottom wall 3| is eliminated and a sheet of a suitable refractory material R, such as, for example, fire-brick, is mounted on this portion of the outer panel 34 thereof for a purpose which will be more apparent hereinafter. V

Suitable insulating materiahsu'ch as, for example, sheets of magnesia material M are positioned between the inner panel 33 and the outer panel 34 of the side walls 24 and 25, the end The insulating material M positioned between the in her panels 33 and the outer panels 34 of the side walls 24 and 25 and the bottom wall 3| fill the space therebetween. No insulating material M is positioned between the inner panel 33 and the outer panel 34 of the top wall 30, the panels 33 and 34 thereof being spaced apart to forman air passageway 35, as will be discussed in greater detail hereinafter. The sheets of insulating material M between the inner panels 33 and outer panels 34 of the end walls 21 and 28 are spaced from the outer panel 34 thereof to form air passages 36 and 31 through the end walls 21 and .28, respectively, which are in communication with the air passage 35 through the top wall 30.

The table 22 comprises a casing 39 mounted on a supporting frame 4|. ;The lower end portions of the outer panels 34 of the end walls 21 and 28 of the housing 28 extend downwardly therefrom and form end walls 21a, and 28a for the casing 39 which are connected to a bottom wall 43 and two side walls 45 and 46 thereof to form an air chamber C which is in communication with the air passages 38 and 31. The supporting frame 4| comprises two bracing members 48 mounted on four legs 49; the bottom wall 43 of the casing 39 resting on the bracing members 48 and the bottom wall 3| of the housing 28 resting on the upper end portions of the legs 481-.v

As is best seen in Fig. 4, an exhaust stack or chimney having an inner shell 53' and an outer shell 54, which are spaced apart to define an air passage 56, is mounted on the top wall 30 with the outer shell 54 in-sealed relation to the outer panel 34 thereof and the inner shell 53 in sealed relation to the inner panel 83'thereof so that the air passage 56 is in communication with the air passage-85. The upper end portion of the-air passage 58'is opento the atmosphere so that, during the operation of our boiler, air

may be drawn down through the passageways 56? 35; 36 and 31 intothe air chamber C from whence it may be fed into the housing 28 to support the combustion of fuel therein as will be discussed in greater detail hereinafter.

As is best seen in Fig. 1, the side walls 24 and slant outwardly toward their bottoms to thereby provide :two wings W1 and W2 within which are mounted two banks B1 and B2 of water tubes 58.

- The water tubes 58 in the bank B1 are mounted therein in three rows X, Y and Z, which are substantially parallel to the side wall 24, and the water tubes 58 inthe other bank B2 are similarly mounted in three rows X, Y and Z, which are substantiallyparallel to the side wall 25. The lower ends of the water tubes 58 in therows X, Y, Z, X, Y and Z are sealed into water headers 8|; 62, 63;6l, 82" and 63', re spectivelyycarried by. the end'walls 21 and 28'. The upper ends' of the water tubes 58" in the rows X, Y andZ'are sealed into one compartment 65of an upper header 66, and the upper ends ofthe water tubes58 in'the rows X, Y"'and Z are sealed into the .other compartment/'85 thereof; the top and bottom-walls of the upper header 68' being braced by suitable members such as'stay bolts. 61. The upper header 66 i's-carried-by the side walls 24 and 25 andthe end walls 21 and 28, the twocompartments85 and 85thereof abutting'each' other and" being fastened together'byany suitable means such aswelding. However, it'will be understood that the. two-compartment upper header 86 is shown merely to illustrate our invention andnot by way of limitation thereto, and that other forms offupper headers, such as, for example, one-con tinuous header to which the upper end portions of all the water tubes 58 are connected, maybe used without departing from the purview of our invention. The upper header 66 divides the housing into an upper combustion chamber U and a lower combustion chamber'orfire-box F as will be discussed in greater detail hereinafter.

A plurality of fire tubes 68 extend" between, and through, the water headers BI, 62, 63, 6|, 62' and 63 and the upper header 66, each of the fire tubes 68 extending longitudinally through a corresponding one of the water tubes 58 in spaced'relation to the sidewalls thereof.

" A'n inlet manifold 18 connected'b'y' nipples H TB into the water headers (if-8 3 and 6l-83 from whence it passes through the water tubes 58 into the upper header 66. A pipe l8 having bifurcations BI and 82 connected to the compartments 85 and 85 of the upper header 88 affords a 'conduit'f'or discharging hot water or otherworkin'gfluid from the header 66 of our boiler during operation thereof.

Although ournovel boiler is readily adapted for use with various types of fuels, for the purpose of" illustrating our invention it is shown in the accompanying drawings as embodying a plurality'of gas burners 84 mounted in the bottom wall 3| and projecting upwardly therefrom in two parallel rows of three burners each. The burners 84' are connectedto a box manifold 88 attached to the lower surface of the center portion of the bottom wall 3| of the housing 28.

A mixture of gas and air may be fed to the manifold 88, and thus to the burners 84 by any one of several units adapted for this purpose and-which are well knownin the art, the unit shown in the accompanying drawings comprising'a mixingchamber 88 connected to the manifold 88 by a coupling member 98 a blower 92 connected tothe mixing chamber 88'for feeding air'thereto; and a feed line'94, including a pipe 96; a-valve 91 andapipe QB, through which fuel gas may be fed from a suitable source of supply 'into' the mixing chamber 88. The fuel gas fed through the feed line 94 int'o'the mixing chamber 88 intimately mixes with the air fed thereintoby theblower"92, andthen passes through the manifold 88 and the burners 84 into the fire-box F wherein it isignit'ed'and burned;

As is best seen'in Fi'gsi'2 and 3, thewater tubes 58 in each of the two banks B1 and B2 are" spaced progressivelycloser'fto'gether' from the inside'rows X and X to the"outsiderows Zand Z. Thus for example, as is best seen in Fig. 3, in'th'e'row X, eight"water"t'ube's'" 58 are" spaced equal distances apart" along" the" length of the water header 6|"; inithe' row Y, nine water tubes 58, of the" same size as" those in" the row X, are spaced equal distancesa'part along the length of'the'jwat'er header'62'and are, therefore, closer together than the water tubes 58 in th'erow X;

and in. the roW'Z', ten Water tubes 58", of the same size" asth'ose in both the" rows X and Y, are spaced equal distances apart along the length of thewate'r header 63' and are, therefore, positionedi closer" together than the water tubes'58 in -either the'row X'orfthe row'Y. The water tubes58i'in the'rows X, YandZ' in thebank B2" are positionedin'substantially the'same relation to each other as the water tubes 58 in'the rows X, Y anclZi respectively. It will be. seen that with this construction although good circulation of the hot gases and other combustion products, resulting'from the combustion of the fuel gas fed by the" burners 84 into'the fire box F, is afforded throughthe two banks B1 and B2 of water tubes asa whole, the progressively closerspacing of the water tubes 58towardthe side walls 24 and 25 of 'the'h-ousing' 28 shields these walls from the-high temperatures of these hot "gases while affording an effective heat exchange element for heating the water or other working-fluid passing through theboiler.

Operation In the operation of our novel boiler, air enters the air chamber through the air passages 56,

35, 36 and 3? and is blown by the blower 92 into the mixing chamber '88 where it is mixed with fuel gas fed from a suitable supply source through the pipe 98, the control'valve 91. and the pipe ,96. The mixture of air and fuel gas is fed from the mixing chamber 88 through they coupling '90 into the box manifold 86'from whence it is discharged through the burners 84 into the firebox F where it is ignited between the two banks B1 and B2 of water tubes 58.

The hot gases and other combustion products resulting from the combustion of the mixture of fuel and air discharged from the burners 84 circulate within the fire-box F between the water tubes 58 in each of the rows X, Y, Z, X, Y and Z,

.and pass downwardly between and around the water headers GI, 62, 63, 61, 62 and 63' into the lower end portion of' the wings W1 and 'W2 to be heated in our boiler during the operation thereof, is, of course, fed through-the inlet manifold 10 into the water headers (El-63 and 6l'-63' and passes therefrom upwardly through the water tubes 58 into the upper'header 66 from whence the hot water or other working fluid, produced by the heat of the gases passing through the boiler, is exhausted through the pipe 19.

The circulation of hot combustion products within the fire-box F of our novel boiler, in heat exchange relation with the lower side of the upper header 66 and the outer surface of the water tubes 58, is considerably different than most boilers heretofore known to the art inasmuch as it substantially reverses on itself in flowing therethrough. Thus it will be noted that the hot combustion products formed in the area surrounding the burners 84 tend to rise upwardly across the water tubes 58 to the upper part of the fire-box F where, because of the baflie effect of the lower surface of the water header 66 and because of the draft of our boiler, they are deflected downwardly and caused to swirl back down between the water tubes 58 toward the bottom of the wings W1 and W2 where they enter the lower end of the fire tubes 68 and pass upwardly therethrough into the upper combustion chamber U and from there pass through the stack 5! to the atmosphere. Thus it Will be seen that the combustion products are caused to hover somewhat within the fire-box F in good heat exchange relationship with the upper header QB, the water tubes 58 and the water headers til-63 and 6|63' so that a relatively large percentage of the heat of the hot combustion products has been transferred to the boiler water before the combustion products enter the fire tubes 68. Because of this, the temperature of the combustion products is somewhat reduced before entering the fire tubes 68 which tends to cause the combustion products to contract so that relatively small fire tubes are enabled to handle the volume of combustion products flowing from the fire-box F.

Also it will be noted that another advantage .6 of'my novel boiler is that the higher temperature combustion products within the fire-box F, ex-

teriorly of the water tubes 58, are in good heat exchange relation with the higher temperature working fluid, namely, the working fluid within the upper header 66 and the upper end portions of the fire tubes 58 so that a relatively great temperature differential is maintained therebetween which thereby aifords continued eflicient heating of the higher temperature working fluid. Also, it will be seen that the combustion prod- ,ucts in flowing through the fire-box F to the lower end of the fire tubes 68 pass across the the inside, the water in the water headers is efficiently pre-heated before entering the water tubes, and wherein the working fluid in the upper header is efficiently heated by high temperature combustion products.

Also itwill be seen that we have provided a 'novel fire tube-water tube boiler wherein the hot gases and other combustion products resulting from the combustion of fuel therein pass successively along and around the outer surface of the water tubes, in good heat exchange relationship with the water tubes and the upper header,

.and'then through the fire tubes into the upper combustion chamber and through the stack to the atmosphere.

Furthermore it will be noted that we have afforded a novel boiler wherein the water tubes ,are positioned in rows therein in such a manner that good circulation of hot combustion gases is afforded therebetween, and the outer rows of water tubes afford relatively good heat shields for the side walls of the boiler.

Also, it will be noted that we have provided a novel boiler wherein the hot gases pass over the outside surface of the water tubes in a generally opposite direction to the flow of working fluid therethrough so that the warmer gases on the outside of the water tubes are in good heat exchange relationship with the warmer working fluid therein and thereby are effective to efficiently raise the temperature of the working fluid to a high level.

In addition, it will be noted that we have afforded a novel boiler which may be readily converted to either a steam boiler or a hot-water boiler with a minimum change in construction.

Hence, while we have illustrated and described the preferred embodiments of our invention, it is to be understood that these are capable of variation and modification and we therefore do not wish to be limited to the precise details set forth, but desire to avail ourselves of such changes and alterations as fall within the purview of the following claims.

We claim:

1. A boiler of the character described and comprising a housing including side walls and end walls connected together, a plurality of water tubes mounted in said housing in a plurality of substantially parallel rows and having upper and lower ends, said rows and said water tubes being substantially parallel to the closest of said side walls of said housing, said water tubes in the rows adjacent to said side walls being positioned "ascents eraser-togetherness said water tubes-1a throws further from said side walls-fire tubesmeunteu finale-water tubes, a header" connected to the upper end portion of said water tubes; in cornmuni-cation therewith, header means mounted in said housing and connected to the lower end'of said water tubes for introducing water into said water tubes, means for feeding fuel into said housing for combustion therein,- means' for exhausting combustion products from said housing,

said 'last'n'amed means comprising means, includin'g said fire tubes and said water tubes, for provi'din'g' a passage for the combustion productss'uccessively over the outside surface of said water we s;- downwardly' through said header means and longitudinally through said fire tubes:-

2. In a boiler of the character described, a housing comprising a top wall, a bottom wall, two end walls, and two side walls, each of said side walls slanting outwardly toward the bottom, two banks of water tubes mounted within said housing, each of said banks being mounted in said housing adjacent to a corresponding one of said side walls and each comprising a plurality of said water tubes arranged in substantially parallel rows, said water tubes'in each of said rows being mounted in spaced relation to each other and being substantially parallel to each other and to said corresponding one of said side walls,

certain of said rows of water tubes in each of said bank being closer to the corresponding one of said side walls than other of said rows in said bank, the water tubes in said rows in each of said banks which are closer than other rows in that bank being closer together than the water 1 tubes in the last mentioned rows, a header connected to the upper end portions of said water tubes in said housing, said header forming an imperforate partition wall exteriorly of said water tubes dividing said housing into a lower chamher and an upper chamber, water headers mounttlnoifgha corresponding one of said water tubes in'spacd-relation' to the side walls thereof and interconnecting said upper and lower chambers, mean'sfor" feeding fuel into said lower chamber between said-banks or water't'u bes for combustion therein, and inea'ns, including said fire tubes and said watert'ub'es for providing a passage for combustion products frdin' said lower chamber successiyely arounci andi'acros's "the outside of said water tubes downwardly between said water headers upwardly through said fire tubes, and to the atmosphere;

CfiARLEs T. DENKER.

JOHN R. MOORE.

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